How To Charge A GoPro Hero 10 Black
In this guide I will show you a number of ways on how to charge a GoPro Hero 10 Black. This will ensure you are ready to go out and create content with your Hero 10 with plenty of power to last you throughout.
Charging The Battery Directly Inside The Camera
You will need a USB-A to USB-C cable for all of the charging processes in this guide. The GoPro Hero 10 comes supplied with such a cable.
Ensure that a compatible rechargeable battery is inserted into the Hero 10 Black. The camera does come supplied with a battery also. Open the battery door to access the USB-C port.
See my guide on how to insert an SD card into the Hero 10 if you don’t know how to open the battery door.
In order to charge the GoPro for all of the methods listed here. Plug the USB-A end of the cable into a wall adapter or power bank, followed by the USB-C charge cable into the camera’s USB-C port.
While charging the red LED light at the rear of the camera, plus at the front will be illuminated. These two LED lights switch off once the battery is fully charged.
USB Wall Adapter
The most common way to charge your Hero 10 is via a USB wall adapter. The camera is compatible with a charger output of 5V-1-2A which I’ll explain the meaning behind these numbers in a moment.
Plug the wall adapter into the wall socket in your house or property, followed by connecting the USB charging lead from the wall adapter to your GoPro.
Different Types Of Wall Adapter
A wall adapter has a number of different names which all stand for the same piece of tech. The 3 most common names are shown below. For this article I use the term ‘wall adapter”.
- Wall Adapter
- USB Charger
- Power Adapter
The Hero 10 doesn’t come supplied with a wall adapter. However any adapter you currently have to charge your smartphone will charge the GoPro.
There are many different aftermarket wall adapters to choose from if you’d like a dedicated adapter for your GoPro cameras.
GoPro did used to offer what they termed a SuperCharger which was a dual port international wall adapter. You may still be able to find one for sale by doing a search online.
If you’re looking for a 3rd party adapter I’d recommend the brand Anker who specialize in charging solutions for technology and gadgets.
Charger Output Explained
So what does charger output mean when it comes to charging your GoPro? The purpose of the adapter is to convert AC power from the wall socket to 5 volt DC which is compatible with USB ports.
The output current of the adapter is measured in Amps which is denoted by the “A” symbol. Most USB adapters are rated at between 1 and 2.4 amps.
A 2 amp rated adapter will charge your GoPro almost twice as quickly so this is what you need to look for when choosing a wall adapter to charge your GoPro cameras.
Battery Chargers
So far we’ve looked at how to charge a single battery inside the GoPro itself. If you have several batteries or more then an external battery charger is an ideal solution.
As with the wall adapters, there are many options to go with when it comes to GoPro battery chargers for the Hero 10.
Telesin offers some great 3rd party battery chargers. GoPro also has an official battery charger available in their online store.
Power Banks
Power banks are really useful to have as part of any camera gear accessories kit. They come in various physical sizes and power capacities.
The amount of power a power bank has stored internally is measured in mAh. I use the Anker 10,000 mAh power bank to charge my GoPro batteries.
The advantage of a power bank is their portability. For example if your skiing, hiking, camping or generally away from an AC power source for any period of time a power bank will act as a charging source for your batteries.
To use, ensure you have fully charged the power bank prior to heading out to create some action content with your GoPro.
You have 2 options here. Plug the USB charge cable into the bank and directly charge the GoPro battery inside the camera.
Or you can plug the external battery charger into the power bank which is the way I’d recommend doing. This ensures you have a fully charged battery to hand at all times.
Solar Power Bank
As the name suggests, solar power banks have solar cells which draw power from the sun to charge the internal battery inside the power bank.
This means you can extend the running time of your GoPro for many hours and in some cases several days weather permitting.
Having the ability to power a GoPro for extended periods of time means you can record time-lapse content of events over a number of days.
I was asked to record the installation of a music stage over 48 hours using time-lapse. The solar charger was ideal in this scenario as it ensured my GoPro had enough power to record the construction of the stage area throughout.
USB Car Charger
For all you moto-bloggers and content creators who are interested in capturing footage inside a vehicle. The USB car charger is going to be essential.
In most cases, the charger plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, providing a USB-A port to use with your USB-C charging cable.
You may want to consider using a longer charging cable in this set up. Ideally a 2 metre cable so you have the option of using electrical tape to secure the cable along the car dashboard to the windscreen camera mount.
How Long Does It Take To Charge
Of course we’re talking about a battery for the Hero 10 in this instance.
The standard battery for the Hero 10 has a capacity of 1720 mAh. When plugged into a 2 amp wall adapter a fully discharged battery takes approximately an hour to fully charge.
If your charging several batteries using an external battery charger such as the Telesin 3 channel charger then expect around 90 minutes for 2 batteries and 2 hours for 3 standard batteries.